St. Augustine, FL June 11-12, 2016

[9mm4545]

A bright array of colorful canopies greeted our hearty shooters as they arrived on Saturday morning, ready to learn marksmanship and history. The canopies became our refuge from the relentless summer heat, making a very steamy weekend somewhat more tolerable. With a good assortment of shooters of varying skills the initial Redcoat target showed that much room for improvement was possible. Rifle issues were not uncommon and the pace was somewhat slower than usual, partly from inexperience but mostly because of the heat and humidity. By the end of the first day everyone was pretty whipped but the marksmanship was much improved. Sunday was even hotter than Saturday but the folks who returned toughed it out and gave forth an effort to be proud of. Joanna received the "most improved" recognition, going from "nowhere on paper" to halfway decent groups and looking very comfortable working a right handed rifle--left-handed! Cannon, our youngest at a mere 8 years of age, was a delight and one of the most safe shooters I have ever seen. Ron and Fran, I do hope to see you both again, perhaps during a cooler time of the year! Sam, Tom and Zachary: you are what is right with todays youth. I appreciate your attitudes and willingness to learn. Michael, you will have the Rifleman patch the next time out if you continue dry practice at home. Remember, practice perfectly! Ron, you and Joanna were complete delights and showed the grit and determination of Riflemen. I really do look forward to handing you both a well-earned Rifleman patch. Robert, you and Matt will continue to improve as the positions become a bit more comfortable and the Six Steps becomes second nature. Matt, you amazed me (and possibly yourself) when you cleaned the second Redcoat target on Saturday. I am so glad that you put some decent optics on your rifle. That old scope was holding you back and I wonder how you did as well as you did with it. Phillip, I am so sorry you did not make it back on Sunday. I do understand the frustration that a misbehaving rifle can give. The rifle you were using has had its demons exorcised Saturday night and will no longer torment the shooters using it. I do believe that Terry will be joining the ranks of accomplished marksmen in the future. Remember to focus all the way through the shot and don't forget to follow through. AK, those little bitty targets are indeed tough but you will overcome. Perfect practice for 10-15 minutes a day for 3-5 days a week for three weeks will work miracles on your ability to hold steady and make the rifle go bang without jiggling it. It was good to see you again Doug. Try this the next time you are at the range: have someone prep your magazines for you and have them add a dummy round or two occasionally. The ball and dummy exercise works wonders, especially with centerfire rifles. We missed you on Sunday, Lauren. You will be an expert if you keep after it. Lastly, our favorite shooter in St. Augustine came back for another go. Summer, you have become so much improved from your first Appleseed. Now, it's time for you to earn the Rifleman patch. Keep the scope dialed down, focus only on the crosshairs and keep that focus going all the way through the shot and afterwards. If your rifle continues to jam, you might try it with another magazine as a test. When we see you again, we will know if you have been doing your dry practice. :-) BTW, if you are missing a small chair and hydration pack, big Chris (aka: Mecreos), who lives in St. Augustine, took them home with him when we saw them at the end of the shoot on Sunday. If anyone took photos, please share them to help us remember the sweaty good fun we all had on a June weekend in St. Augustine. Many kudos to our fine instructors. You guys look like you know what you are doing! Keep it up.

[B.C.]

Hot! Great, safe shoot......did I mention hot? Thanks to all our hearty students for your perseverance over the weekend. Also thanks to our wonderful staff: Joe, Tom, Randy, Bruce and Janet - you are all a pleasure to be around! As mentioned above I do have Summer's small chair and water bladder in St Augustine - PM me if you would like to pick it up. Until next time my fellow countrymen......


Enjoy some pictures below

[B.C.]

Hot! Great, safe shoot......did I mention hot? Thanks to all our hearty students for your perseverance over the weekend. Also thanks to our wonderful staff: Joe, Tom, Randy, Bruce and Janet - you are all a pleasure to be around! As mentioned above I do have Summer's small chair and water bladder in St Augustine - PM me if you would like to pick it up. Until next time my fellow countrymen......


Enjoy some pictures below

[FLawyer]

Several of us went up on Friday afternoon at about 4 pm. to put up the target line and canopies.  Used 4 large canopies in a "T" shape.  Worked well with shade area for instruction behind the firing line.  Did anyone mention it was hot!!! 

(please ignore my finger on the one photo...)

[FLawyer]

The shade was greatly appreciated by the Shooters and Instructors.  Big Chris was calling the line under the supervision of the Shoot Boss.  Cannon was ready to go down to check his target.  Due to the east-west orientation of the target line, most of the shooters were able to be in shade most of the day...

The final picture shows our designated marksman - Cannon - putting his own unique interpretation of "kneeling" to use....